A Royal Mess
by Heaven's-Grace
Summary: Prince Sasuke finds his life rather boring, but when he sets out on a quest to save a 'princess', he gets more than he bargained for. Things are not what they seem. SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey! This is my third story. I've just been having more ideas for more fanfics pop into my head. If you've been following my other stories, then good for you (i love you all!)! I really love the coupling of SasuNaru, they're the BEST EVER! Sasuke is totally AMAZING! Anyway, tell me how ya liked it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own (sadly) Naruto or anything in it. This story has some adult language. **

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A Royal Mess

Hoof beats echoed through the lush forest. Sun beams peaked from the thick leafy canopy. The raven haired rider barely even noticed the mystical creatures that scurried out of the way through his haze of blissful freedom. Being on his own, away from the stresses of prince-hood and his overbearing family, allowed for the break that the young man had needed for so long.

'_Maybe this adventure will clear my head. At the very least, it got me out of the house.'_

Flashback

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"Where are you going? You can't just leave! You have obligations!"

"Screw my obligations! Itachi can just take care of them. Doesn't he always do a better job than me anyhow?"

A silver-haired man quickly followed the raging raven-haired youth.

"But, Sasuke…!"

"NO! I'm sick of always doing what's expected of me; of the prince! I…I just need to leave for awhile." Sasuke stopped on the veranda, panting after having practically run across the entire castle.

"Kakashi," the brunet spoke more calmly, "I'm so sick of being here, of being trapped in this castle, always hearing my parents gush about how PERFECT Itachi is. Did you know, in all my life, I've never been farther than the outer-most wall of the city? It's disgusting. Let Itachi assume all the powers of our family. He is, after all, the heir to the throne, not me. Why should I have to work my ass off when I couldn't care less about the throne?"

"…I see. But don't you think that the king and queen will be worried?"

Sasuke turned to his long time attendant, Kakashi. The man was fairly young, late 20s; silver hair stuck out to the side rather oddly; and his eyes, one black, the other red with a scar going vertically over it, always were filled with mirth.

"You can tell them I went out. I'll be back in a couple weeks or so."

"Were will you go? It'd be kinda boring if you went out with no purpose."

"……?"

"Well……I did hear of a quest you could go on. It'd be more fun than just wondering around the country side."

"What is it? It better not be some kind of adventure for some treasure no one has ever seen but people have heard stories about, cause that's just bull shit. I'm not gonna go on a wild goose chase."

"Oh no, no. It has legality. You know of the King and Queen of the West Country, right? Well, their daughter was kidnapped and brought to a fortress in the Great Murky Swamp of East Country. The royal family is offering a reward for the safe return of their precious child."

"THOSE TWO! King Jiraiya and Queen Tsunade have a child? Who on god's green earth thought it a good idea that THOSE TWO should have a kid? Biologically, their kid has got to be really weird."

"Hold your horses. The girl isn't 'their's' pre say, she's adopted."

"Adopted?"

"Ya, both her parents were killed in the war. I believe you've heard of them. Her father was the Yellow Flash."

"YELLOW FLASH! The great warrior Yondaime was this girl's father?"

"Yep, and I hear that she is very much like her father. Blinding blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and an infectiously chipper demeanor."

"Hn.."

"So, will you go?"

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End Flashback

Sasuke didn't know what made him decide to go on this 'quest' as it were. He had promised himself long ago that he would never be one of those damsel-saving-love-seeking pricks. Maybe it was the fact that the girl was the great Yondaime's child. Even after the Yellow Flash's death, amazing stories about his strength and power were hot on everyone's lips. To have lost such an amazing warrior must have hit the West Country pretty hard.

The brunet had heard that King Jiraiya had taught Yondaime himself and thought of him as his own son. Not only was Yondaime's greatness legendary, but so was his demeanor. The Yellow Flash was supposed to be chivalrous, unbelievably kind, and funny. Though, in war, any soldier who was unfortunate enough to come upon him was told to run away as soon as possible. Once, Sasuke had seen a painting done of Yondaime, and even though it was a war scene, Sasuke could tell the man would have been a pleasure to be around, if even for one moment.

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"Dear GOD! This swamp NEVER ENDS!" The thoroughly disgruntled Sasuke complained.

"Master, I believe that the fortress is only a short way further." A red headed attendant replied.

Before Sasuke had left the castle, Kakashi made him promise to bring along an attendant, Gaara. The red head had been with Sasuke for as long as he could remember. Gaara, though more like a part of the family, was rather quiet most of the time. Despite this, the red head was one of the North Kingdom's strongest warriors even though he was a mere adolescent like Sasuke.

The two, after several days of travel into the East Country, had arrived at the swamp. Fully living up to its name, the swamp was indeed murky, if not filled with every kind of bug known to man. Mosquitoes swarmed around the porcelain skin of the Prince Uchiha and the VERY annoyed Gaara was not at all pleased with the smell of the mud that bubbled from every nook and cranny of the swamp floor. Finally, the thick gray walls of the fortress loomed ahead. A single, tall spire rose from the fortress like a knife through a heart.

'_God, this is sooooo cliché. A damsel in the tallest tower? Please.' _Sasuke groaned as he arrived at the front of the castle.

"I'll go in and get the girl. You stay here and watch the horses, kay?" The brunet left his partner as he snuck up to the side of the fortress quietly.

After successfully invading the castle, Sasuke looked around for any guards. But to his entire disbelief, all the soldiers appeared to be sleeping.

'_Who the fuck runs this castle? Obviously they aren't very clever or they wouldn't just let their guards lay around all day.'_

Sneaking by rather easily, the brunet found a pair of stairs that led up to the tower.

' _This is sooo dumb. If I'd have known this was THIS easy, I'd have just told the King to come get his own daughter.'_

Reaching the top of the stairs, a large, thick door appeared. Huge dead bolts and locks cover the door, effectively locking in whatever was inside.

"Well, here goes nothing." Sasuke reached forward to begin dismantling the lock system.

Suddenly, the brunet was on the floor, a numbing pain spread across his face as he was hit by the huge swinging door.

"OWW. GOD! WHAT THE FUCK!" Sasuke has his hands pressed to his face, trying to ease the pain.

"OHH! I'm so sorry. Ah…wait, who are you?"

The biggest blue eyes Sasuke had ever seen stared at him. The person kneeled down and attempted to brush Sasuke's hands away from his face to get a better look. Sasuke was completely dumb founded.

This was no girl.

'_I'm sooo going to fucken kill Kakashi.'_

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**A/N: Hey, how'd ya like it? Please Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm so glad that you guys like this story! Thanks for the great reviews; I really appriciate it. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update until after June 29th cause i'll be in Europe (yay for me!) on vacationbut don't worry, i am continueing with all my stories. Anyway, here's the next chapter. I think you guys will like it. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything in it.**

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Chap.2 

This was no girl.

'_I'm so going to fuckin kill Kakashi!'_

Sasuke stared into large blue eyes which were scrutinizing the damage done to his face by the swinging behemoth of a door. It only took a few seconds for Sasuke to gather his wits before he became really annoyed.

"GOD! What kind of idiot bashes open a door without seeing if anyone was behind it! There could have been guards! And who the hell are you! Where's the princess!"

The blonde haired boy pulled back in offense, but then tilted his head in confusion.

"Princess?….oh, god. I'm sorry. Jiraiya must have told everyone that I'm a girl. That stupid pervert." The 'princess' clenched his fist at the thought of being called a girl.

"Y….you mean, you're the princess that was taken captive?"

"Well, I'm no princess, but for the most part you're right. Anyway, I've got to get going. The kingdom probably wants me back. Nice to meet ya, bye." Without a second thought, the blonde got up and proceeded to make his way down the stone stairway.

"Hey! Where are you going! I'm supposed to be here to save you!" Sasuke scrambled up to his feet, amazed by the nonchalantness and simplicity of the West Kingdom prince.

"Oh,…well, thanks, but I don't need your help. As you can see, I got out by myself. I'm sure I can get home all by myself. Bye now." The brunet stared bewilderedly at just being brushed off so quickly.

Instead of continuing their previous line of banter, Sasuke merely followed the blonde out of the castle.

"Hey, not that it matters, but, what's your name?" The blonde turned around.

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki. Though, I'm now the heir to the throne of West Country. What's your name?" Naruto, as he was now identified, seemed to be looking around for something, but brightened upon spotting the stables of the fortress.

"Sasuke Uchiha. I'm the youngest son of the royal family of North Kingdom." The blonde stopped his path toward the stables and stared at the brunet, one eyebrow raised in scrutiny.

"What?"

"N..Nothing." _'He's an Uchiha? I've heard so much about them. I guess the rumors were true. They are really good looking, well, not that I like this guy or anything..'_

Sasuke followed Naruto into the stables were the blonde proceeded to look from one stable to the next until he finally stopped at one.

"Kyuubi! I'm so glad you're safe!" A reddish-orange stallion perked up at the cheery voice. Jumping into the stable, Naruto began running his hands along the horse to check for any maladies. Upon remembering that the Uchiha prince was still lurking about, he turned around.

"Ah…why are you still here? I already apologized for the door thing, and as you can see, I'm perfectly capable of getting home by myself." The blonde had his hands on his hips, now, trying to get across the fact that he was not some kid. "I'm 17 for fuck's sake, and I've had plenty of training under the royal guard. I'll be FINE." Naruto looked over his shoulder one last time, confident he got his point through the stoic brunet.

"Well, don't let me get in your way, but from what I can gather, I bet you couldn't find your way out of your bed in the morning, idiot." A smug smirk formed on Sasuke's perfect lips. The blonde stood still, back turned, mouth agape.

"I..I…Take that..!" Naruto never finished his retort since the brunet had already left, leaving with the last word.

After a few moments of child-like fuming, Naruto saddled his horse and rode out of the stable. Rounding the side of the fortress, the blonde saw that the brunet was not alone. A red head with teal eyes was tending to their horses as the Uchiha joined him.

'_Humph…stupid jerk. He can get lost for all I care.' _"Let's go Kyuubi."

---

"Ah, Master Sasuke? What happened to your face? Do you need any medical aid, and where's the princess?" Gaara glanced toward the blonde figure now entering the woods.

"Tch…..I'm fine, and the '_princess' _feels he can make it home by himself."

Gaara didn't ask any further questions. Seeing that the 'princess' was obviously a boy, the red-head knew Sasuke must be in a bad mood.

After saddling up, the two North Kingdom riders entered the woods where the blonde prince had disappeared moments before. Orange, red light filled the western sky, setting a warm glow about the forest. Even through the setting sun, Naruto's blonde hair could be seen flickering farther ahead by the brunet. Much to the blonde prince's displeasure, he could tell that Sasuke was following him.

'_Stupid, arrogant, son of a bitch. Why won't he leave me alone?'_

"HEY! Sasuke-teme! Why the fuck are you following me?" Naruto turned his horse around and came to a stop; allowing for the brunet and red-head to get closer for an answer.

Sasuke remained calm as he meandered right up to the fuming blonde.

"Hey, wher..!"

"I'm not following you. We happen to be going in the same direction."

Sasuke kept his horse walking past Naruto, without even a pause; a sly and sexy smirk directed right at the confused prince.

'_Wha..what was that!' _A blush faintly painting the prince's tan cheeks.

Naruto stayed unmoving, watching the two other riders walk by. The blonde woke out of his trace when Sasuke and his partner dismounted a few meters ahead, getting ready to set up camp for the night. Naruto jumped off his horse and ran up to the aggravating brunet.

"What are you doing? You can't camp here!" The blonde stood over the kneeling Uchiha, who was trying to get a camp fire going. Sasuke looked up at the fellow price, the smirk never once faltering.

"Why not? I don't see any reason I can't." Sasuke's voice retained its ever sexy, low tone.

"I..I…yo…arhhh, fine. Camp here for all I care!" Naruto turned around and stomped off to his horse, where he proceeded to make a camp of his own.

The sun set leaving the forest completely black except for the golden light of the camp fires. The rich aroma of cooking meat filled the camp site, though it only came from one camp. A small, solitary flame burned in the Uzumaki camp; paling in comparison to the near oasis of a camp that the Uchiha was now enjoying. Sasuke looked over at Naruto's camp, smirking in victory.

"Hey, Uzumaki! How's it going over there? Did you not pack any food for your trip? I would imagine any lone traveler would remember that, but that's just me." Sasuke watched as the blonde's head perked up.

"I AM FINE! I'm just not hungry..." Truth be told, the blonde had forgot to pack any necessary travel equipment, including food, and the trip back to West Kingdom was not short.

Naruto pulled his legs up, wrapping his arms around them to keep in the warmth. A weight on his shoulders caught his attention; a blanket was draped on them. Looking up, he saw a stick with sizzling meat being held before him by the brunet.

"Here, you look hungry." Naruto stared at the softened face of the Uchiha. He didn't know whether it was the fire light or Sasuke actually being nice, but a faint smile graced the brunet's lips.

Naruto took the food slowly and muttered a quiet 'thanks' in reply.

"If you want, you can share our camp site. We have plenty of supplies. Just think about it." With this, the Uchiha slinked back to his camp fire, where he sat down and began eating. Naruto ate his food slowly, trying not to think about how he had come by it.

'_stupid, deceiving…'_

After finishing their food, Gaara and Sasuke prepared for bed; rolling out their sleeping bags and cleaning up the camp site. Sasuke rolled out his sleeping bag, but elected to lie on top of it, allowing the cool night air cool him down. A slight rustling came up to the camp of the brunet, revealing itself to be Naruto. Sasuke rose an eyebrow at the new intruder. The blonde rolled out his sleeping bag next to the brunet, never looking straight at the Uchiha. Naruto lay down, back turned, still feeling at little defeated. Sasuke leaned in closer to the blonde for a moment.

"I'm glad you finally decide to join us. sleep tight." Sasuke's low, rumbling voice, like that of a cat purring, was enough to lull the blonde into a comfortable sleep.

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**A/N: How'd ya like it? Please sit tight until i get back, i will keep writing for this and all my stories :).Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey again! Sorry i took so long. It was a combination of too many strenuous vacations, one right after another, and my procrastinating laziness. (The excitment for writing of a newbie wears off quickly) Anywho, I really like this chap and I hope you like it too. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

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Chap.3 

'_Naruto….'_

'…_.Naruto..'_

'…_Naruto.'_

"IDOIT! WAKE UP!"

Naruto woke with a start, finding that he was clinging to the chest of a very annoyed brunet prince. Releasing his grip, the blonde fell back, finally remembering where he was: Prince Uchiha's campsite.

"Dobe. God, I called your name so loud, I thought for sure you were dead." The Uchiha flashed a devilish smirk.

"I…hey, don't call me dobe, you bastard!"

Gaara smirked secretly as he busied himself with starting breakfast. When he had woken up, Sasuke and Naruto were cuddled together, asleep. It was then all the more funny to see his master's expression when he woke to find the blonde in his arms.

'_I'm going to have to tell everyone back home about this.'_

Wobbling sleepily to his feet, Naruto headed over to his horse, Kyuubi, and began to feed it.

"Hey, Princess, are you going to finally admit that you need help or am I just going to have to follow you all the way to the West Kingdom?" Sasuke grinned in satisfaction as he saw the blonde stop what he was doing. '_Damn, teasing this boy is REALLY fun.'_

"That's it. I don't get you at all," Naruto turned around to face his mocker, "What's your deal! You say you're here to bring me back home and then you do nothing but poke fun at me."

"But it's just so fun." Sasuke put on a mock innocent look.

The blonde merely scoffed at the statement.

"Fine. I'll come with you guys, but rest assured, I'm not doing it because I need your help. It's 'cause I know you'll never leave me alone if I don't."

"Fine, I can deal with that."

With that, the three travelers packed up their camp and headed off once again toward the West.

----

-grrrooooowwwwllll-

"Ah…please tell me that wasn't your stomach….AGAIN!" The raven prince stared annoyedly at the hungry blonde.

"But…." The blonde whined.

"No, we've already stopped TWICE to feed your black-hole of a stomach! Why don't you just eat yourself and do us all a favor?"

Sasuke was beginning to question his choice in company. '_Why do I have to be so impulsive sometimes?'_

"Puh-Leaseeeeeeeeee. I'm soooo hungry. Sasukkkeeeee, come ooonnnn!"

"Master Sasuke, please make his whining cease. Anymore, and I'll probably kill him myself." A vein was pounding on Gaara's forehead.

"Why me?" Gaara stared blankly at the Uchiha with a 'you-know-why' combined with a 'like-hell-I'm-gonna-do-it' look.

"Fine. We'll stop here for the night. You happy know!" Sasuke glared dangerously at both his servant and the other prince. _'Trader.'_

Naruto dismounted happily, hopping up and down, waiting for some food; meanwhile, Sasuke and Gaara scrounged up a fire pit and prepared the rest of the camp site. Before long, the rich aroma of stewing beef filled the air. Naruto eagerly held out his owl like a little child, a smile plastered onto his face. Purposely serving the blonde last, Sasuke couldn't help but smile inwardly at how cute the boy looked when he finally was served his portion and inhaled it like there was no tomorrow. Naruto began coughing animatedly when he realized that the stew was way hotter than he had thought, causing both the Uchiha and Gaara to burst out laughing.

"Haa—he-here," Still chuckling, Sasuke handed the blonde a cup of water, "Don't choke on that too."

Naruto glared over the rim of the cup at the raven haired youth.

After, finishing his meal, Sasuke stood up.

"I saw a hot spring just in the woods that way. I'm going to go take a bath. If either of you come anywhere near there, I'll castrate you without a second thought!" The blonde and red cringed at the thought. Satisfied with his threat, Sasuke gathered his stuff and walked out of sight.

Twenty minuets of silent passed, neither Naruto nor Gaara spoke. The red-head seemed content with the quiet but the blonde prince soon became restless.

"Hey, Gaara. Do you know any card games?" The red didn't move. '_Was he asleep?'_

"Do you want to play with me?"

"No."

"Ohhh-kayy…." Rocking back and forth, the blonde took to whistling to drown out the emptiness. A muscle twitched above Gaara's eye.

"Why don't go collect some firewood," The low and droning voice from the servant announced lazily.

"Ok!" Jumping up energetically, the blonde bounded in the woods.

Several minutes went by as Naruto rampaged around the forest collecting sticks. The sun was steadily on its way down, making it harder and harder to see. The faint yet very recognizable sound of water brought Naruto out of his romp.

'_A river?'_

Walking delicately, the blonde peaked through a thicket. Clouds of thick white steam rose from a set of hot springs.

'_Hot spr..?….SHIT…Sasu..!'_

A figure could be seen relaxing in the corner of one of the springs. Squinting for a better look, Naruto could see more clearly the pale figure: Sasuke Uchiha.

The more he looked, the less Naruto could pry his eyes away from the sight before him.

Pale skin glowed in the setting sunlight, beads of water trickled down the Uchiha's well toned body and raven hair. The prince was half submerged, his head leaning back against a rock, eyes closed. Sasuke's dark lashes rested softly on his creamy cheeks, which were tinted red from the heat. His supple lips were barely open, breathing calmly, causing his chest to rise ever so slightly.

'_Wow….he…he's so...beautiful. Wait, what did I just say! I do not think that…that bastard is HOT!'_

Suddenly, Naruto's hand pressed down on a twig, making it snap with a loud pop.

"Who's there?" The Uchiha was alert now.

'_Shit'_

Scampering backwards quietly, Naruto sprinted into the woods. He couldn't risk being seen by the brunet, or else Sasuke would bring down all hell. The blonde kept running, firewood forgotten, until he could barely see anything at all due to the lack of sun.

'_Oh god oh god oh god! ……Calm down Naruto, you can do this. Camp is right over………fuck.'_

"Hellooo?...Gaara?...Sasuke?...Anyone?" Silence greeted the boy.

The sun was now completely set and all that could be seen were dark blue shadows. The noises of animals were multiplied ten-fold, making even the slightest scurry of a mouse sound like the worst sort of forest predator.

"Oh god. I'm lost..and..and," Tears began to accumulate in the blonde's blue, frightened eyes, "…Sasuke was right, I am hopeless." The teen prince sat down at the base of a large tree, clutching his knees to his chest. Streams of slow, salty tears moistened his tan cheeks.

'_Please…someone find me.' _Naruto fell into a restless sleep after much trouble. Dreams of terrible beasts and darkness filled his dreams. Creatures chased the blonde and a deafening pounding filled his mind. He could feel the monsters get closer, and then…..warmth surrounded the boy.

"Naruto?" A concerned and deep voice blocked out the darkness and silence.

Naruto felt himself being picked up in strong, warm arms.

"Sa…Sasuke?" The blonde tiredly glimpsed the worried yet now relieved face of the brunet prince.

"Ya…I'm here," Sasuke stared down fondly at the boy in his arms. Upon learning that Naruto had not returned to camp, Sasuke went riding out into the dark forest searching for him. The Uchiha found the blonde curled up under a tree, tears staining his sleeping face. Now, Naruto was asleep once more, his head buried comfortable in Sasuke's chest.

"I'm here."

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**A/N: Please Review :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Anyone out there? -echo-echo- stares out into empty audience, lights glare back harshly...Please fans come back to meeeeeee... WOW. I feel like scum right now (you're all probably saying "Yep, you should too."). I AM SOOOOOOOO SORRRYYYY! And i know that won't make you guys feel any better. Senoir year of high school just has been getting to me and my school-time-procrastination is in full bloom (and my god-damn half-sister moved in with us and she is such a LAZY BITCH and she keeps using my computer W/O ASKING!). Anywho, sorry about the wait. I know this chapter is a bit short but i think i just need to get back intot he swing of things and update my other stories (you guys thought a gave up on all of them, didn't you? Well i didn't. I will update them all :)**

**Disclaimer: the same shit i say in every chap of every one of my stories. (I really wish i owned Naruto so that i could put Sasu and NAru together for real instead of all these fantasies.-sigh-)**

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Chap.4

"Shit. I SWEAR TO GOD NARUTO, YOU BETTER GET AWAY FROM THERE! I'M NOT JOKING!" Sasuke stood screaming in barley a whisper at the blonde who wasn't paying him the slightest bit of attention.

"I know what I'm doing Sasuke. Man, why do you treat me like such a child. What could possibly happen?" With a nonchalant wave of the hand, Naruto continued walking despite the other prince's words. The boy wasn't worried; he knew exactly what he was doing.

Sasuke remained frozen in his spot, watching as Naruto walked up to a not so safe sleeping lump. It looked like a breathing hillside; green and brown heaving up and down with slow breaths. Horned spikes ran down the hill's back; down what appeared to be a long tree root. But Sasuke knew better. This was no ordinary, sleeping, spiked hill. The smoke coming out of the mound's face told the brunet it wasn't. Naruto walked up to the rather reptilian head, leaning over it to see if it was really sleeping. The blond turned back to the ebony haired boy, who was trying to remain as silent and undetectable as a chameleon, and gave him a thumbs-up, grinning stupidly as he did it.

"He's asleep," Naruto whispered, "I told you it wou…." The blonde was interrupted by a small –eep- that escaped from Sasuke's mouth, his charcoal eyes wide in fear. "What?" Naruto looked back only to come face to face with a large yellow eye.

'shit.'

The 'not-so-dangerous' dragon lifted its head, never moving its eyes away from the two figures before it. The smaller blonde creature stared up in wonderment while the dark-haired one looked ready to pull out his sword at any second.

"Awwww! He's so cute," exclaimed the blonde while turning to look back at the brunet, "Can I keep him? Pleeeeaaasssee?"

"FUCK NO!" Sasuke ran forward and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him away as fast as possible from the gigantic lizard.

"Oww. Sasuke, you're hurting me! Let go. What are you doing!" Ignoring the blonde's protests, Sasuke kept running, the beast hot on their tracks. The Uchiha could feel the pounding steps of the dragon shaking the ground beneath him and that made him run all the more frantically, regardless if the struggling boy behind him wouldn't listen to reason.

'_God. WHY didn't I listen to Gaara? He told me not to follow the idiot. But noooooo, I had to go after him.' _The two princes dodged past a rock formation, and kept running through the thickening forest. Ever since the Naruto-getting-lost incident several days before, Sasuke felt more protective over the blonde. Day after day, Naruto found new and more imaginative ways to nearly get them all killed, all of which Sasuke felt the need to chase after the blonde to make sure he didn't get hurt. One such time almost ended with Sasuke losing all his precious hair and one time Gaara got bitten by an irritable Eastern Venus-fly trap that Naruto thought made a lovely bouquet. A scar now graced the red-head's pale hand, for which Gaara still hadn't fully forgiven the blonde. Oddly, though, Naruto always came out without the slightest scratch while the other two travelers became more badly bruised and beaten with every encounter.

Dodging past another land formation, Sasuke threw himself and Naruto into a cave that was hidden from view. Sasuke pushed the blonde against the cave wall, pressing close to him and covering his mouth with his hand, effectively silencing Naruto.

"Don't speak or we'll be found for sure." Sasuke hissed, looking out for any sign of the dragon.

A while ago, Sasuke wouldn't have dreamed of ever putting his life on the line for a person he had only just met. He tried to convince himself that his attentiveness toward the blonde was merely protecting his investment (aka. 'I sure as hell better get paid for this!'), but the little nagging in his brain told him that it wasn't. Could he possibly have feelings for Naruto?

The thundering steps continued past the unseen hideout, retreating back to the woods to whence they came. A took only a few more seconds for Naruto to fully appreciate the position he was it. Him, wall, Sasuke, him, no one else, him, cave, Sasuke….. A blush took no time to make its way to the blonde's face, his thin scar marks standing out against his now crimson skin. Once he was sure that the beast was gone, Naruto pushed Sasuke off him. The brunet placed him with a steely glare, one which Naruto was sure had nothing to do with being pushed away.

"Don't EVER do that again!" Sasuke burst out. "How many times do I have to save you from some self-imposed danger? You keep doing it! And Gaara and I always pull you out just in time." Naruto stared unmovingly at the brunet. "I'm sick of having to worry about you. Worrying whether you'll go and get lost or eaten. It's not fair! You never listen to me, even though it's for your best interest. I can't take it." The redness from Sasuke's face subsided a bit as his outburst ended. Blue eyes appeared glossy with the force of unshed tears due to the weight of the Uchiha's words. The two boys stared at each other for a few seconds; the tension was palpable.

"I..I'm sorry.." The smaller boy rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Sasuke, "I'm SO sooorrryy!" Naruto buried his head into Sasuke's chest, wailing as he did. "I didn't realize that you were being hurt b..because of me. You and Gaara have both looked after me,…worried about me." It was Sasuke's turn to be surprised. His obsidian eyes were wide but then slowly looked down as he placed a forgiving hand on Naruto's back.

"Forgive me. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You can't help it if you're dumb…." A quick pinch in the side from the blonde caused the brunet to flinch.

"I am not 'dumb'! I knew exactly what I was doing. Besides, everyone knows that the West Country's royal family has a pact with the creatures in this forest. None of them would hurt me. Did you actually think I'd walk up some random dragon?"

Naruto looked up at the boy who he was currently being embraced by but the look in Sasuke's eyes was enough to tell him that the taller boy didn't know the aforementioned information.

"Y..you …can't be hurt by these creatures?" The Uchiha was trembling now; the feeling that was emerging was ready to explode. "That little bit of knowledge would have been nice A WEEK AGO!" Naruto escaped from Sasuke's grasp when an evil smirk formed on the brunet's lips. A chase around the cave ensued as the Uchiha tried to throttle the other prince.

"Waaaaa! Stay away from me! I'm sorry! It must have slipped my mind." Naruto dodged a well thrown rock as he scrambled about.

"IT SLIPPED YOUR MIND!" Sasuke cut the boy off, cornering the blonde against a wall, both arms on either side of the smaller boy's head. Naruto's chest heaved from his marathon around the cavern, blue eyes wide in fear of what the brunet might do next. A deep whisper in his ear sent shivers up Naruto's spin.

"Do you what I'm going to do to you…." The Uchiha moved even closer, "..my little lamb?" Breath caught in the smaller boy's throat.

"Ahhheemmm…," A throaty voice cleared, "...I do hope I'm not interrupting anything important." Gaara, a certain forgotten red-head, stood at the cave entrance, eyebrow quirked in suspicion.

"Gaara! Help me! Sasuke's going to kill meeeeee!" Pale green eyes stared into pleading blue ones.

Sasuke chuckled in his mind, _'Kill? Rape is more like it….REWIND! ….. D…did I just think that! It's Naruto for Christ's sake! He could make up his mind let alone make food. Sure he is pretty good looking…cute….adorable…fuckab….DAMN MIND-TOURETTE'S!' _

Gaara continued to stare at the scene before him. Sasuke was chuckling to himself (maybe he finally snapped?) with a rather evil smirk plastered to his face while the still pinned Naruto was blushing like mad, trying to convey to the red-head that the situation was not what it looked like and that he too thought that Sasuke had snapped. The poor little servant couldn't help but to think at that moment that he was traveling with a bunch of idiots.

Kami Please Save Me!

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**A/N: How was it? Please review...i hope...no thrown veggies. Nothing too mean about my not updating for a couple months cause i'd hate to think that my fans hated me now.**


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